The Finals of the asKQAnce Inter-Middle School Quiz by Santosh Swaminathan and Venkatesh Srinivasan conducted at the KQA anniversary quiz fest on Jul 26. The winning team was from PSBBLLA.
2. Rules and Format
• 4 rounds, 36 questions
• Points for each round as we go along
• One answer, into the mike, please!
• Take guesses for every question!
• Finalists, please keep your mobiles OFF
3. VISUALLY APPEALING
• 6 QUESTIONS
• ALL-WRITTEN
• +5 FOR EACH, NO NEGATIVES
• +10 BONUS for ALL CORRECT
4. 1. Who, from a 1963 photo? (OR) What
crime is he being tried for?
27. 2.
The RMS Titanic is a familiar name to everyone.
Although it was an ocean liner, the letters ‘RMS’
denoted another function it was supposed to carry
out. What?
30. 3. When this company lost a patent infringement
suit to a competitor to use the number ‘5’ on its
product in continuation of a series that had the
numbers 2, 3 and 4 associated with earlier
models, it went on to use the equivalent Greek
number prefix to derive a word that also stands
for strength.
What company and word?
33. 4. Plato is said to have possessed one of these
and used it for signalling the beginning of his
lectures at dawn. The Umayyad Mosque in
Damascus, Syria also had one, which was water
powered, to announce prayer times.
Italian writer Dante Alighieri described one in
1319. In modern times, the French inventor
Antoine Redier was the first to patent one in
1847.
What irritating but necessary device, the
function of which is today fulfilled by the mobile
phone?
39. 6. These pictures represent the first, second and
third names in a list pertaining to India, in the
years 1975, June 1979 and August 1979. Explain.
48. 8. Two great players from the 1980s, who had a
fierce rivalry, especially at Wimbledon. This year,
at the 2014 Wimbledon finals, both of them
again competed against each other, in a way.
Explain.
50. Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, were
the coaches of Novak Djokovic and
Roger Federer respectively
51. 9. The BJP won the maximum seats in the 2014
Lok Sabha Elections (282), followed a long way
behind by the Congress (44).
Which two parties came 3rd and 4th with 37 and
34 seats, and apart from the fact that they are
regional, what is common to these two
parties?
54. 10. There were many Dutch artists who left their
mark on the art landscape. One of them was
Peter Brueghel the Elder. Look carefully at these
parts shown here. They are all from one of his
paintings. Can you identify any two of the
parts, and therefore the name of the painting?
64. DIFFERENCE WARS!
• 6 QUESTIONS
• ALL-WRITTEN, ATTEMPT IF YOU WANT TO
• +15/12/10/8 depending on how many teams
get it right
• -5 for wrong answers
65. 1.
This word was added to the Oxford English
Dictionary in June 2014, around half a decade
after it came into widespread prominence. The
dictionary defines the word as “a word or phrase
preceded by a ____ and used to identify
messages relating to a specific topic; (also) the
____ symbol itself, when used in this way.”
What word?
68. 2.
An actor named Brad Lennon currently plays the
role of ______ ________ in advertisements
worldwide, a role which was originated in 1963 by
Willard Scott. In 2010, the company which owns
the ______ ________ trademark has been pressured
to retire the character, in order to combat
childhood obesity worldwide.
However, the company stood firm and the ______
________ mascot continues to be used in
advertisements worldwide, including India. Name
the character.
71. 3.
In 1958, Italian industrialist and entrepreneur
Ferruccio ___________ travelled to Maranello to buy
a Ferrari 250GT sports car. ___________, an
automotive enthusiast, suggested several
modifications and improvements to the clutch
and gearbox of the 250GT, but his suggestions
were dismissed by the company’s founder, Enzo
Ferrari.
Stung by this insult to his pride, which brand did
___________ go on to start?
74. 4. The five domesticated species of the ________ genus are as
follows:
• ________ annuum, which includes many common varieties such
as wax, cayenne, guajillo, and the chiltepin;
• ________ frutescens, which includes malagueta, Thai, and
Malawian Kambuzi;
• ________ chinense, which includes habanero, Datil and Scotch
bonnet;
• ________ pubescens, which includes the South American rocoto
peppers;
• ________ baccatum, which includes the South American aji
peppers.
What is this genus better known as? Or, fill in the blanks.
77. 5.
• The Latin word for “to flow”
• The Greek word for “greenish-yellow”
• The Greek word for “bad smell” or “stench”
• The Greek word for “violet”
• The Greek word for “unstable”
The above can be grouped under a category
which has a seven-letter name that comes from
the Greek for “originating in the sea”.
What seven-letter name?
80. 6.
In the world of food, what is divided into two
categories, i.e. monofloral (with subcategories
including Acacia, Apple Blossom and Manuka)
and polyfloral (the more common, generic
variety)?
85. 1. This is the poster for an upcoming video game,
a crossover between a popular video game series
and the fourth entry in a blockbuster movie
series. Name this game.
88. 2. The pull-tab on soft
drink cans was invented in
1956, by Mikola Kondakow
of Ontario, Canada. From
the very beginning, they
were designed with a hole
in them, as seen here.
Aside from saving on
material costs, what is the
purpose of the hole in the
pull-tab, something most
people neglect when
drinking from these cans?
94. 4. This is a list of the batsmen with the most runs
in a single Ranji Trophy season. Positions #3 and
#4 are occupied by two batsmen from the same
Mumbai team in the 2008-09 season. The man
in the #3 position had already played his last
test match by the start of the 2008-09 season,
while #4 would make his test debut four years
after the end of the season. Identify both.
97. 5. The name given to the sporting equipment
seen here comes from the material used to make
them, and the living creatures that they replaced
in 1921. What two-word name?
100. 6. Although it was first described in 1665 by
astronomer Giovanni Cassini, it is still not known what
exactly causes the _____ ___ ____’s distinctive colour.
Theories supported by laboratory experiments
suppose that the colour may be caused by complex
organic molecules, red phosphorus, or a sulphur
compound. Contrary to its name, the _____ ___
____varies greatly in hue, from almost brick-red to
pale salmon, or sometimes even white. The higher
temperature of the reddest central region is the most
convincing evidence that the colour is affected by
environmental factors.
What planetary feature?
103. 7. This six-letter word is used for breeds of dogs
that are small enough for a person to hold
comfortably, and which have a calm, non-
excitable temperament. Typical examples include
Pekingese, Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, Pugs and
Shih Tzus.
This term is also used to describe an excessively
submissive person (similar to a “yes man”) or
institution that can be very easily controlled.
What six-letter word?
106. 8. Over the years, there has been a repeated debate in
Germany as to whether November 9 would make a
suitable national holiday. The reasons given by proponents
of the idea include that the 9th of November is the date of
the end of the Revolution of 1848 and the date of the 1918
abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and declaration of the
Weimar Republic, the first German republic.
However, the 9th of November is also the anniversary of
the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch and the infamous Kristallnacht
attacks of the Nazis in 1938. Finally, as a compromise, the
3rd of October was finally chosen as a national holiday.
What was the major reason given by those who wanted
the 9th of November to be made a national holiday?
109. 9. This is an illustration of ________ _____, the winner
of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, showing him as he
appeared in a 2010 episode of The Simpsons.
Who and which organization did he start?
112. 10. Apart from being an acronym of their
proper name (which translates to “Islamic
Resistance Movement”), the popular name
of this organisation is also the Arabic word
for “enthusiasm”. Which organisation, very
much in the news recently?
115. 11. This type of
construction
equipment, used to lay
the foundations to
provide support for
buildings and other
structures, has a name
that is familiar to fans of
a particular ‘sport’.
What name?
119. 12. This is the CEO of company X, talking about
the reasons company X acquired company Y in
February 2014. Name both companies.
“The idea is to develop a group of basic internet
services that would be free of charge to use.
These could be a social networking service like X,
a messaging service like Y, maybe search and
other things like weather. Providing a bundle of
these free of charge to users will work like a
gateway drug of sorts. They would have some
context for why these service are important, and
that will lead them to paying for more services
like this – or so the hope goes.”